Verizon-bound LG QWERTY slider pictured

It's been almost a year since we've seen a high-profile Android-powered QWERTY slider launch on a U.S. carrier, but it seems LG and Verizon might attempt to revive the form factor. According to Twitter leaker @evleaks, the "LG Enact," pictured on the right, is just "days away" from launch, and it'll pack a 4-inch WVGA display and a 5-megapixel camera.

As such, we're not looking at a high-end slider to succeed the Droid 4, more a budget slider for those on Verizon's 4G network that'll probably go for under $100 on-contract.

Drat! My wife has been looking for a replacement phone for her Droid 4. I really thought this could be it (seeing as Motorola has dropped the ball on providing a physical keyboard) but I have a bad feeling about the specs.

While I'm not anticipating exciting specs (probably will not be my Droid 4 replacement), I am glad to see a new phone with the qwerty finally being released; it means the form-factor is not completely dead. Now if we could just get an S4 or HTC One or even a Droid Ultra to be released with a qwerty variation, I'd be happy, and would finally retire the Droid 4.

Maybe I'll be surprised, and this will have better specs than I expect, but that 5MP camera really makes me doubt it.

Why must everyone be so negative about the qwerty? Back when they were more prevalent people said that they were on the way out because they were simply too large, and other phones like the incredible and iphone fit more easily into their pocket... Fast forward to present time, and many phones are just as large as an qwerty has been, if not as thick. Now the argument is "it's a thing of the past." However, I posit the question: is it really a thing of the past? Have your hands evolved into something else over the course of a few decades, or are they still appendages based on physical input?

The fact of the matter is, fingers are fingers, and are thus tuned to TACTILE input. In fact, the word tactile is from the verb Latin verb tango, tangere, tetigi, tactum - thus we get our adjective from the perfect passive participle of the Latin verb of touching. Digital keyboards require hand-eye coordination at all times, you'd be hard pressed to text a message completely blind, but that is not so difficult with a physical keyboard.

While it is true that QWERTY was never designed to be optimized as a mobile keyboard format, the fact that it works so well and has been used so readily is a testament to its viability. There is a market for QWERTY out there, it is just waiting for the right company to take advantage of it. The low-budget iterations are popular because the company doesn't have to market them at all, and people will still buy it because there is little competition, and consumers will settle. However, if one large company were to risk a high-end model with a keyboard, I think they'd be surprised, particularly if they could make the keyboard attractive looking and in line with the spiritual nature of the phone itself. If Samsung can market and develop a flip phone (welcome back to 1995), then a QWERTY shouldn't be much of a push. They could market it as an enterprise phone for businessmen/women on the go - powerful and sleek, like a black suit and a velvety red tie.

My guess is that, sooner or later, a company such as tactus will stream-line the process whereby they can make raised buttons on the digital screen when a keyboard is opened. At present such an interface has drawbacks, since you're placing a fluid and two plastic films atop a screen. Indeed, there is little way to avoid a loss of resolution with such a model. However, the need for tactile response on the keyboard is essential.

I for one have stuck to my Samsung atmosphere. I had originally attempted to bite the bullet with one of the original galaxys a few years back, but I ended up selling it and buying the atmosphere out of contract, and I have been much happier despite the lost performance. I can't tell you how many times I'm out to dinner or in a setting where everyone is texting, and I can only have conversations with people who also have qwertys, since it is easy to text quickly without your eyes on the phone. Simply put, texting doesn't require your absolute and undivided attention for 20 seconds if you have a physical keyboard... Perhaps this statement isn't universally true, but if you're a solid typist, then your skills transfer seamlessly to the qwerty phone.

In a world where we micro-manage our time and strive for convenience, I am quite surprised that physical keyboards have become the providence of a few manufacturers. I for one dislike blackberrys because I don't have the hand of a chipmunk and can't press the impressively tiny keys, but they apparently still have a niche and that's fantastic for business.

People love something new, and what was once old-fashion has subtle ways of appearing again as a "new" hip trend. It as if products experience some sort of frequency-dependent selection.

I don't want a smartphone subsidy. I want to pay full price for a smartphone, and then not have a data plan. I am almost never away from a WiFi network, so I don't need data. I am getting sick and tired of the pitiful phones Verizon offers on basic contracts. Why can't I pay full price for a smartphone and then be on a non data contract is my question.

I can't help but be on Verizon. It is not my fault that the only service for miles around where I live is Verizon. I would gladly jump over to T-Mobile, but there is no point in buying a T-Mobile phone if I never have service area for it.

Dude, if you don't need mobile data, maybe you don't even need a carrier. Use Google Voice or Skype or something and you can call & text on WiFi. I've got it worked out where Google Voice is my cell phone number and I can use an app (GrooVe IP) to make and receive calls and another app (Google Voice) for texting, voicemail and more. If I didn't need to use my phone as a modem all day from my office I would seriously consider doing without the carrier. Then you can buy any device you like, maybe even just use your Nexus 7 instead of a phone...

I don't hate them, but they are what give Androids a bad name. Flagship phones are nicer, but affordable phones for people who can't afford more expensive ones, is why Android has such an enormous market.

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